What is the JET Programme

This post will be purely informative for those who have heard us talk about Japan and the JET Programme but don't really have a clue as to what I will be doing. My title will be that of an ALT (Assistant Language Teacher).  I will assist a JTE (Japanese Teacher of English) in preparing and carrying out English lessons in the public school system. There will be many other duties I'm sure, however until we get there I can only speculate on what they will have me doing. Many of you have asked us how long we the programme lasts. The terms are one year contracts with the option to renew for up to five years. Our intent is stay as long as possible, but we will take it a year at a time and see how things go.
For those who would like to know more about the programme itself, the JET Programme is now in it's 24th year of recruiting young(ish) foreign nationals like myself to Japan. While I am going as a teacher, the underlying goal of the programme is cultural exchange. JET is currently one of the worlds largest international exchange programmes and certainly one of the most prestigious. More information can be found here The JET Programme.